


Prisoner of War

by AlmaLucia



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Coping, Eventual Smut, F/M, Feudal Era, Held Prisoner, Kingdom Hearts AU, Medical Trauma, Multiple Personality Disorder, Non- Canonical, Pining, Prisoner of War, Psychological Trauma, Rape/Non-con - Freeform, Reader-Insert, Situational Adaptation, Spying, Terranort is Terra's Alter Ego Per Sey, Threatened Reader, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Vanitas is a Fucking Psycho, Violent Captor, assassination attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:07:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29944236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmaLucia/pseuds/AlmaLucia
Summary: ***********Warning--- This is going to be a darker story, so if you're sensitive to stories including rape, abusive behavior, and Stockholm like elements, please skip over this Fic!************You're a spy for the Kingdom of Light, your scouting/assassination mission went awry and now you're held captive by the General of the Kingdom of Night. You make a single friend within your prison's walls, but can you get away from this hell?
Relationships: Terra (Kingdom Hearts)/Reader, Terra-Xehanort/Reader, Vanitas (Kingdom Hearts)/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Capture

**Author's Note:**

> !!!!Final Warning!!!!!!
> 
> If you are sensitive to stories containing Rape, Stockholm Elements, or Violence towards the reader character, P L E A S E DO NOT READ THIS!
> 
> You have been warned!!!!!

You were deep in the forest, slinking silently through the underbrush. Nobody could see you under the cover of night, yet your heart still thundered in your ears as you neared the enemy camp, anticipation burning through you. You had orders from your captain to scout out the enemy group and eliminate the weaker members. 

“That's.. a very risky move, Captain Sora, are you sure we should proceed?” You had told him when he had relayed your orders.   
  
“Well.. I'm not the one making the orders. You'll have to take it up with the superiors, though they haven't been accepting any counsel for a while. They'd rather be bumping heads over the war table than deal with anyone else at this rate.” He had a nervous, worried face that made your anxieties well up in return.

You remembered how terrified you felt in the days leading up to this mission, going over every way this could fail in your head. They could detect you as you entered their camp, they could hear you killing one of the weak members, they could have a mole that alerted them of your mission in advance.. Every outcome made your gut wrench with anxiety, but in those days, you prepared yourself for the worst, because there was a slim chance this could go well.

You had finally made it to their camp, far enough away to not be caught, but close enough to see minor details and how many people there were. There were supposed to be 6 of them on their way to rendezvous with the rest of their army. Sort of stilted in their battle proficiency, four that were stronger and may be able to kill you, and two that were the lowest of the low, too new to be much of a fight. From what you could see, there were only four that were by the fire, eating and drinking. Three of them seemed to have this air about them that made your gut scream not to mess with them, but the other one seemed to be younger, and still getting accustomed to the soldier's life. The other two must have been patrolling around nearby, or at a nearby spring, bathing. You decided to wait for an opening, observing the enemy as they went off in pairs in shifts. 

Eventually the men were asleep and the flame died down to cinders, your queue to move.

You slowly slinked through the foliage, coming to crouch over the meek man you saw earlier. Your heart panged softly at what you were about to do, the guy couldn't have been any older than you. With a quiet, deep breath, you gathered yourself, whipping out a poison-coated kunai and slicing deeply across his throat. With that, you quickly disappeared into the shadows, circling around to the other side of the camp, studying every sleeping face until you came to the other target. Once more you crouched over the sleeping form, when suddenly you felt a hand tightly gripping your neck. Your heart thundered in your head again, and you were about to go through with the kill when you stopped. The man you were crouched over was gone. You were wrenched back now, his lips resting on the shell of your ear, but you didn't dare make a sound yourself.

“I suggest you come with me, spy.” 

Slowly you rose with him, being tugged along through the brush before he stopped a good way from the camp, slamming you into a tree. Adrenaline coursed through your veins. He was either going to kill you here now, torture you for information, or interrogate you. None of them seemed good in your book. He slammed you into a tree, his arm pressed firmly to your throat, the pressure on your airways strenuous and uncomfortable.

  
  


He had a Kitsune mask covering his features. It was a curious choice for a soldier. In fact his garb in general was odd for a low-rank. He had on a black Haori with red lapel tassels hanging from either side, connected by a rope that draped across like a closure. The rest of his clothing followed a similar color pattern, with a bit of grey mixed in here and there. Your brow furrowed in confusion as you leveled a glare at your captor. 

“Did you think that I wouldn't know you were there for hours?” He said with a cocky tone.

“Who are you? There is no way that someone like you is my target. You're no lowly soldier if you knew I was there when the others didn't.” You spat, too angry over your failure, and bewildered at your situation to be terrified in the moment.

“Those dumbasses?” He scoffed, “They have no form of spatial awareness. I..” He said smoothly and lowly as he lifted his mask and hood, revealing a shock of black hair and golden eyes. “..am the General of this army. Vanitas.” A smirk rested on his face.

Your eyes widened in shock, this now felt like a suicide mission. Why would General Riku send you off to kill him?? He was known all throughout the country as a horrifying power, leaving blood and ash in his wake. Your knees weakened, your whole body going numb when the realization hit you. 

You had become expendable. 

“You.. you’re  _ lying _ ..!” He only shook his head in response, wearing a condescending look. You remembered several others going missing on missions, the reports always detailing that they either defected or were killed. You began to wonder how many missions were just a way to thin out the useless few. You were snapped from your internal crisis when he spoke again.

“You’re  _ going _ to come with me. You’re  _ going _ to stay silent.” A sadistic grin crossed his face as he leveled his eyes with yours. “ And.. you’re  _ going _ to do what you’re told.” 

He straightened, taking the tassels and rope from his haori, tying your wrists tight enough to make you grimace. Vanitas shoved you away from the tree, making you stumble before kicking your heels, silently telling you to walk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You couldn’t sleep, sitting up by the remnants of the campfire you were watching just hours ago. At this point, the sun was beginning to rise, and Vanitas was loading up the horses, the rest of the group following suit. He walked up to you, a bored look on his face as he motioned for you to move toward his horse.

“Up. We’re leaving.” 

“Where are we-”

He looked at you in irritation. “ _ I _ will tell you when to speak,  _ prisoner.” _ He bit out, muttering ‘ _ insignificant speck’  _ under his breath. You nodded hesitantly and made your way over, Vanitas lifting you and flopping you over the horse’s back just behind the saddle before mounting himself upon it as well. It was uncomfortable. The rope biting into your wrists, the pressure on your abdomen forcing you into labored breaths, the eyes of the other men on you. You wished he would have just killed you, rather than leaving you subject to this humiliation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few days later and you finally arrived at the enemy palace, sore, covered in dirt, starving, and weak. 

“Take her to the Tenshukaku, I have an audience with the Shogun.”

With those orders, one of his men who you came to know as Terra-Xehanort through eavesdropping, led you from the group silently, to a large, empty room. The only object you saw was a pair of shackles on the wall. The chains were long enough for you to roam the room but that was it. Perhaps you could take him out and run.

“Don’t even think about it.” He said flatly.

Your eyes snapped to him, startling slightly. 

“You don’t seem to understand just who caught you. If you have any form of self preservation, you’ll stay put. You’ll listen to what you’re told.” 

You hang your head, looking at your feet with shame as you hold out your wrists. The rope that cut bruises and rubbed sores dropped, being replaced by cool metal. Terra-Xehanort clasped the other pair of shackles to your ankles, then left you there, the door quietly sliding shut with a quiet  _ clack. _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vanitas hung around for a moment, watching Terranort lead you away. Quietly he padded up the steps to the Shogun’s audience chamber. The guards nodded to him and he entered, bowing before the seated elderly man. 

“Ah, Vanitas, how was your little excursion?”

“Not very fruitful, though I did manage to capture an enemy assassin. Seems I was one of her targets.” Xehanort laughed at this.

“What fool would send an assassin alone to kill one of the most feared men in the country?”

“I don’t know.. but.. I would like to keep this prisoner for myself if you would allow it.” He smirked. “ For personal reasons of course, but perhaps I can get some information that would be helpful to us as well?”

Xehanort smiled, nodding to Vanitas. “I’ll allow it. Let us hope she turns out to be worth it, hm?”

With that, Vanitas chuckled a quiet ‘ _ heh _ ’ before he bowed and left the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn't know how long it had been. You spent a long time pacing the room, staring out the thin window, sitting.. and now you were laying on the floor. It was dark now, the only light in the room coming from the moonlight.

The sound of quick feet padding up to your door made you sit up, alert and wary. When the door slid open loudly, you were met with your captor. You grit your teeth.

“Good news!” He said in a mocking tone. “You’re my assigned prisoner now! Isn’t that...  _ great _ ?” He purred. Your gut wrenched. Great. Now you had to put up with him constantly until someone came for you.  _ If _ anyone came for you. 

“Why didn’t you kill me?” 

His eyes darkened as he swung his foot and landed a harsh kick directly to your gut. You collapsed upon contact, gasping for air as you clutched your abdomen with pained groans. 

“I  _ told  _ you that you’re to stay  _ silent _ . That you don’t speak until  _ I  _ tell you to, you  _ idiot _ .” He said angrily. After a moment, he relaxed his posture with a soft sigh. “ You could be an asset to us. You’re certainly  _ bold _ , that's for sure. We’ll find out soon enough if that’s a good thing or not.”

“Elrena!” He called. A blonde girl poked her head in and then moved to the doorway to bow. 

“Yes, General?”

“Clean this mess up. I can’t stand to look at it.” He said sharply, motioning his head in your direction before leaving the two of you.

If the girl said anything, you didn’t hear it. You couldn’t place your surroundings, couldn’t feel your body. Your mind was a clouded mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elrena delivered you to Vanitas’s chambers the next day, having set your hair up with simple pins, and dressed you in fine garment, not that you paid much attention to whatever ‘hospitality’ was being given. There was no way any of it was actually for the sake of being good, but rather more insidious. 

He motioned for you to enter and for Elrena to leave from his seated position. You both obliged, your body coming to a stop in front of him.

“Sit, please.” He ordered. You did so with a small nod, your eyes moving attention towards staring at your binds. He rolled his eyes. “We have much to discuss.”

You kept your eyes away from him.

“First matter of business!” He clapped his hands with a grin, the loud sound startling you and forcing your attention back to him. He laughed at you, but it was quick and it was gone, and he was all business again. “You can earn your freedom.”

Your eyes lit up with a small flame of hope, but you quickly squashed it yourself. Enemy territory is no place for hope. You’ll end up enslaved, warming his bed, or killed. That’s just the reality of it. ‘ _ He’s fucking with me.. _ ’ You thought.

“ _ But.. _ ” You knew it. 

“You’ll have to fight on  _ MY _ side.” This made you raise your brow curiously.

“The price to pay is.. Well, whatever I want from you really, and you..  _ don’t get a choice. _ ” He grinned that sadistic grin that made you feel like a mouse trapped under the cat’s paw. No option presented to you except submit, or die. His gaze made your skin crawl. “You can speak.”

“I...” Now that the opportunity was presented, you couldn’t find your words. He stared at you in boredom. “I want to know what all of this entails.”

“Whatever I want from you. I already said it. I’ll bed you if I really feel like it.” The end of his statement had your insides writhing with disgust.

“You will be training with me starting this evening. You will also visit me nightly to give me information about your kingdom, experiences with them, and  _ whatever else _ I want from you.”

_ God stop saying it. _

“What is your end goal?” You inquired. He contemplated his answer.

“That is detail for a later time, hmm? I’ll have Elrena set a room up for you. At this moment, consider yourself a permanent resident.”

_ Hooray _ ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently, Vanitas had Elrena set up a room that wasn’t far from his. As if being right next to him was supposed to be a comfort. She fetched you from his chambers and brought you along, leaving you at your doorway. You’d noticed that pretty much everyone here in this castle was a guy, except for you and her. You wondered why. 

Upon entering your room, you noticed your belongings were placed neatly in different places. Weaponry was along the top of your dresser, as well as your uniform. Elrena filled the wardrobe with a mixture of combat-oriented and every day clothing. As much as you wanted to hate it, Elrena really tried to make it feel comfortable for you. You laid on your futon, and felt all of your exhaustion from the past few days wearing on you.


	2. Please, Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the dark chapter, as I warned previously, if you are sensitive to rape, abuse, and stockholm like elements, please do not read!!! This is the chapter where it all hits the fan!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This version of Vanitas is disgusting and I hate him. 
> 
> But Terra is a soft sweetie and I love him

You were awoken just before dusk by a soft knocking at your door. The door slid open to Terranort. You could only look at him in a sleepy confused daze. 

“Wha..” you mumbled. Rubbing your eyes with a yawn. 

“You need to get ready to train.”

You jolted awake at that.

“Shit..!”

Quickly you grabbed your old uniform, turning away from him.

“I knew you’d see things our way.”

“What..?”

“Compliance. That leads to Loyalty after a time.”

“I’m doing this for survival at this point. Do you think I  _ want _ to be here? Do you think I want to be just a hop, skip, and a jump away from  _ him _ ?”

Terranort was silent for the entirety of your tirade, not judging, calculating, or anything. Just.. listening. Having a person to talk to helped you feel better, your body expelling the bullshit via tears. You finished fastening your uniform, sniffling as tears stained the leather of your boots.

“Do... you think… I  _ wanted _ or  _ deserved _ to be tossed aside by my leader.. deemed  _ expendable _ … just because I couldn’t bend my knee to one decision, because… I challenged his actions?” You looked at him.

He closed his eyes.

“I just… miss my home.”

“Who was your shogun”

“..Eraqus..”

Terranort flopped a hand down on your head, trying to be comforting or.. something? It was definitely odd.

“I understand. We need to get you to training though.”

“Thank you.. for listening to me.”

He nodded to you in acknowledgment, escorting you to the training grounds. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You stood across from Vanitas, who impatiently tapped the flat of his blade against his shoulder. Terra-Xehanort undid your bindings and then stood by the archway, keeping guard to make sure you didn’t bolt. With a nod, he reassured you, and you turned to face the man who captured you with nothing but utter hatred and disgust.

“Took you long enough to get here.” He taunted, faking a yawn for an added dramatic effect. You grit your teeth at this. 

“Show me what you can do.” He ordered, motioning for you to start your attack. Attack you  _ did.  _ You crouched slightly, kicking off the ground to launch yourself at the ravenette. Unsheathing your Tanto, you clashed blades with him, the force of all your negativity thrown into the strike. Terranort looked surprised at your ferocity, Vanitas as well. Surprise melted away and was quickly replaced with crazed excitement. You were swinging to kill. You hated him that much and it made him absolutely  _ elated _ . 

He swung his blade, forcing you to dodge back from him, unsheathing your other blade to parry more effectively. You were about to be cornered, your blades locked when you swung your leg up and planted a kick to his gut. He stumbled back, coughing, giving you the opportunity to bounce away from him to the center of the field. 

His eyes were filled with rage when he looked at you, his lips forming a snarl. You were panting, in an offensive stance as you readied yourself to attack once more. He lunged with a yell, coming at you fast. With quick thinking, you lobbed a smoke ball at the ground and disappeared into the cloud for cover, leaving him blinded. You snuck your way around behind him, ready to land a strike when he turned and swung his blade, landing a diagonal gash from your hip to your shoulder. You fell to the ground, clutching your chest and abdomen as you screamed in pain.

Carried away in the moment, Vanitas leered down at you, holding his sword above your chest, ready to plunge it straight through you. You closed your eyes tightly, ready for the killing blow that never came. Hot tears stung your eyes and cheeks borne of pain and fear.

When you opened them, you found Terranort standing between you and Vanitas, his hand placed on the ravenette’s chest. 

“This is just training, remember? An evaluation of her skill.”

Vanitas grit his teeth and sheathed his blade, exiting the training grounds, leaving you and Terranort. The brunette male turned to face you, kneeling at your side. 

“Let me see it.” He said as he gently moved your hands from the wound. It wasn’t too deep, you could be patched up, but you were gonna be down for a few weeks.

He hoisted you up with as little jostling as he could muster, the movement taking the wind out of you. 

You were thankful to have him around, even though he may not be a friend, you saw him as a trustworthy confidante, someone you could talk to, and someone who might help you when you need it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terra had you sit up on the table in your room, He caught Elrena on the way up and told her to fetch bandages and stuff to clean and close wounds. She caught up with you two and handed him the box, leaving with a bow. 

He took the pair of shears out of the box, cutting away the bloody clothing. You were covered in sweat and pallid in complexion, telling him he needed to work quickly. 

“It's gonna sting a bit..” He murmured in a quiet tone. 

He poured an alcoholic tincture over a strip of white cloth, dabbing the length of the wound. He made sure to make small talk to make sure you were still awake, small questions like your name, your hobbies, how you became a warrior. When one cloth was stained red, he soaked another and went back to work. 

He pulled one of the belts off the thigh of your suit, folding it.

“Bite down on this. You can squeeze my hand if you need to.” You nodded weakly, placing the belt between your teeth and taking his hand.

“Try as best you can to stay still..” He said quietly, taking a freshly soaked cloth and dabbing it in the wound. It stung, feeling like he was ripping the wound wide open. You whimpered, squeezing his hand. Your nails leaving crescent marks on his skin. It felt like ages until he was done, but when he did, he gave you a bit to regain your bearings. It was a surprise you were even conscious. He released your hand, grabbing and threading a needle. You eyed him warily but you knew it had to be done. Your hand grabbed his leg preemptively, knowing his hand wouldn’t be there for this part.

He held the skin together, quickly and deftly suturing the wound. You cried. You cried a lot. The wound was so tender from the cleaning, even though he was gentle. Every pass of the needle and tug of the thread brought forth more tears and yelps. 

Finally he was done, gently helping you into a sitting position to bandage you up. He wrapped the linen tightly enough to protect the wound, but loosely enough to allow movement, starting around the waist then moving it up to your shoulder, securing it with pins.

“Th-thank you.” You croaked, feeling drained. Terra shook his head dismissively.

“No need. Now, let's get you changed into something clean.” He said as he shuffled through your wardrobe, pulling out a plain white robe. “This can work for now. You should stay in here until you’re healed up. I’ll be checking your bandages every few hours for the first few days.”

He helped you out of the dirty clothing and held your arms up slowly so as to not strain the injured shoulder, gently sliding the sleeve of the clean yukata on and then onto the other. Your door slid open loudly, Vanitas leaning against the threshold. You looked at him with fear in your eyes, paralyzed to the spot. Terranort looked over to him, then back to you so he could finish tying your robe closed.

“She’s late.”

Terra sighed. “That’s your fault. She’s going to have to rest. If you want what information she has, you’re going to have to come in here, or wait until she’s better.” 

Vanitas frowned, clearly irritated. 

“Fine. You gonna sit here like her guard dog the whole time, too?” 

The brunette rolled his eyes. “No, actually. I was planning to check on her periodically to make sure she’s stable and her wound isn’t wide open. So, I was just getting ready to leave.”

You panicked internally, you didn’t want to be left alone with that  _ psychopath _ . You grabbed hold of Terra’s shirt instinctively, begging him to stay. He only looked at you, closed his eyes, and shook his head as he gently ushered you to sit on your futon. 

“Sorry.” Is all he said, and then he left. You sat there, frozen as Vanitas entered the room, sitting at your low table. He eyed you, resting his elbow on the table and his cheek in his palm.

“What was your mission?” 

“To scout a camp by the river and take out the two weaker members. Thin the ranks so to speak.”

“Hmm. What was to be the next course of action?” 

“I..I’m not sure. My leader never gave me insights to those kinds of developments after I disagreed with him. If I had to guess, it would be to lead an attack on a nearby encampment after the assassins finished their parts of the work.”

Vanitas smirked. “That is certainly helpful. Tell me..” He purred. “What did you oppose him over?”

“He deals too much in absolutes. ‘If you have the slightest shred of bad in you then too bad, you’re too much of a threat.’ Was his mindset.” You sighed. “I saw many close friends of mine in the ranks get sent off on suicide missions, and others get exiled. Looks like he finally struck my name off the list.” 

You fished around in the pocket of your shredded uniform, removing a few folded papers, now stained red on the edges. You unfolded them and handed them to the ravenette.

“These are the papers I had detailing the mission. I tried to talk to my captain for a reassignment but.. he had no pull with Eraqus.” You said forlornly. Vanitas perked up upon hearing that name.

“ _ Eraqus _ , huh..? My you’re  _ quite _ the treasure trove.” He said again as he leaned his way over the table toward you. He was still a good couple feet away, but you still backed yourself up against the wall, your stitches screaming at the small jolt.

Vanitas smirked knowingly and stood, rounding the table towards you. Fear bubbled, making you feel nauseous. 

“N-no..” This made him grin.

“No what..?” He murmured at you in a faux caring way.

“Wh-whatever it is you’re gonna do..”

He leaned down, inches away from you. Gripping your chin in his hand as he caressed your lower lip with his thumb, his other hand on the collar of your yukata as though he’s going to expose you to him.

“No! Just, No! Get  _ away _ from me!!” You yelled, curling in on yourself. Your adrenaline was coursing through you and blocking out the pain of your wound. Vanitas glared coldly, punching you in the gut. You cried out in pain, barely able to breathe. Terra slammed the door open, making you jump with sheer fear. Vanitas smirked at him like a cocky bastard, all Terra did was glare at him and make his way over.

“That's for getting a hit in on me earlier. You’re welcome.” Vanitas bit and left the room. “I knew you’d be there,  _ dog _ .” He said as he passed Terra.

You couldn’t help the tears that were streaming down your face. Everything hurt. Terra muttered curses under his breath and moved to open your yukata, your hand tightly gripping his wrist. 

“Wha— _____, we need to check the stitches—”

“No” 

“At least let me look at the bandages to make sure you aren’t bleeding again.”

He didn’t press further, he only waited for you to calm down. After a small bit, you calmed down, opening the yukata on the side that was bandaged.

He saw small spots of red beginning to seep thru the fabric up and down where the cut was, but no signs of open stitching. He breathed a sigh of relief. 

“What did he do?”

You recounted the happenings and Terra grimaced. 

“I’ll stay here with you.”

You eyed him with suspicious confusion.

“ Why do you keep helping me?” You asked as you laid on your futon.

“Well.. I also came from Eraqus’s kingdom. I defected for reasons similar to why you got exiled.” Your eyes widened in surprise, a small twinkle returning to them. Who would have known you’d have met a  _ living _ person from your kingdom outside its walls. 

“Xehanort took me in, taught me how to be stronger, utilizing the hatred and darker emotions that Eraqus makes everyone suppress.”

“Xehanort.. isn’t that.. part of your name?”

“It is, but that's because he took me in like I was a long lost son of his. So he gave me his name as a gift when he felt my skills were sufficient enough to earn it.”

“He’s the Shogun then..?”

“Yeah. Look, I’d like to tell you more, but you really need to rest. I’ll be here, don’t worry.” He said as he pulled the covers up over your shoulders before settling against the wall where he could see the door. Hours passed before you were finally able to sleep, Terra checking on your bandages again once more, resulting in you gripping his wrist again. As such, he talked to you and calmed you before inspecting the wrappings. Finally, you were asleep, though that wasn’t much reprieve as nightmares haunted you then.

The days and weeks dragged on like this while you recovered. Terra stayed with you for the majority of the day, Vanitas coming in to terrorize you for a couple hours every evening, being chased out by Terra, and then you would have a nightmare-plagued night. A week after you recovered, you finally got back to your training, sparring with others in the castle. Demyx was particularly fun to practice with, taking everything in stride and turning it into a joke, sometimes playing pranks on the others that were training. 

After a month of staying in the castle, the worst happened. Terra was sent away on a mission by Xehanort, leaving you alone. Terra had come to be the one thing keeping you sane here, what with a crazed lunatic just a few doors down. He promised he’d be back soon, telling you no more than a week. That night was a sleepless one, the shadows in your room setting you on edge. It wasn’t like you could ask Demyx to have a sleepover, you only knew him for a few days at the most. 

The night before Terra’s return, as you were laying in bed, Vanitas paid you an unwelcome visit. A twisting feeling making your gut writhe. You hopped up, brandishing your tanto at him, two of your kunai in your other hand. 

“Now.. we don’t want you to  _ injure _ yourself, do we?” He said in a mocking tone, clearly making fun of Terra for watching over you, closing the door behind him quietly. 

“Stay the  _ fuck _ away from me, you freak.” You bite out sharply as you throw one of your knives, barely missing his face. The blade sunk into the doorframe, obviously a warning to the ravenette. He looked back at it with surprise, then back to you with amusement glinting in his eyes.

“You’re even  _ bolder _ than the day we met. How nice..” he purred in a flirty tone, continuing his advance. He stopped for a split second, as you threw your other knife, had he not disappeared when it would have made contact, it would have planted itself through his sternum. You were shocked, and now more terrified. Whatever that technique was, you recognized it from when you got caught. The hairs on your neck were standing up. He was still here, you just didn’t know where. A hand tightly gripped your throat, cutting off your air. You frantically scratched and clawed at his hand, dropping your tanto.

“ _ Too slow _ .” He purred, his lips firmly against the shell of your ear. “Hey, I’ve got needs..  _ Terra  _ won’t mind if I  _ use _ you, right? It's not fair of him to keep you all to himself like that” He said lowly.

“Wha— N-no!  _ Mmph!! Mmmph!!”  _ You cried out before his hand clamped down on your mouth with a bruising grip. He shushed you as you writhed in his grip, trying to break free. The ravenette quickly tired of your bullshit and wheeled you around slamming you into the wall, the impact making you see a burst of white, pain blossoming in the back of your head. His knee spread your legs, pressing against your most private area, grinding against it in a painful way. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes as you sobbed from behind his hand, trying to kick him away from you.

“Come on.. why don’t you make some pretty sounds for me?” He cooed at you, removing the tasseled rope from his haori with one hand like he did the night he captured you. You stared at him fearfully with pleading eyes as he flipped you around , then slammed you onto the floor on your chest, roughly placing his foot on your head. You sobbed harder now, every movement you made sending a pain through your neck and skull. He nonchalantly tied the rope into a makeshift gag, putting a knot in the center, then tying over it multiple times, humming like he hadn’t a care in the world. 

He knelt behind you, pulling your hair hard to make you cry out, giving him an opportunity to tie the ball gag around your head, the knot depressing your tongue.

“There, aren't you a pretty little thing like that..” he purred in your ear again, his hand sliding your yukata up to reveal your ass. He chuckled to himself, gripping it roughly as he tugged your panties to the side, teasing at your folds with his fingers, your legs kicking out all the while. You cried and begged him to stop.

“ _ Stop _ ? Well then.” His voice took on a cold tone and you heard the rustling of fabric, a new fear taking hold of you, making you feel sick. “Guess we’ll just have to speed this up then, huh!”

You felt him plunge into you, a scream of pain ripping out of your throat. It was hard to breathe. Your body felt numb. You tried to dissociate yourself from it all, but the pain that came with every movement made it impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You weren’t sure how long it had been. When did it start? It was dawn, now and you thought you could hear some sounds outside as the castle woke up.

Vanitas was still going, but getting sloppier.

“Better finish up, eh?” He said raggedly, leaning down to make sure you’d hear him. “Sounds like the  _ Scouting Party _ is back. Can’t wait to hear how  _ Terra _ is gonna react to finding you like this.”

Your eyes widened, humiliation coming over you as you fought against him with newfound resolve. He laughed maniacally at you.

“Hah! You’re gonna get me off if you keep doing that!”

You didn’t give a fuck whether he finished or not, you just didn’t want to be subject to the humiliation of Terra finding you with this creep using you like this. 

He pulled out, that same crazed grin from your sparring match on his face. 

“Say  _ aah _ . _ ”  _ He said as he positioned himself in front of your face, his product spilling onto your cheek, hair, and forehead. You winced as though it were acid. He stood, resituating his clothing, making sure to spit on your cheek as an extra insult. 

“Be sure to cry about it to your  _ boytoy _ later.” He mocked with a crazy laugh as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

You were left there, weak, sore, and broken, listening to the sounds outside and the people milling through the halls. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to blink. It just.. hurt. Everything did. 

Your heart pounded in your ears when you heard the knock on your door. Your breathing sped up as the door began to slide open. Even the soft voice greeting you made you bristle.

“_____?” Terra croaked upon seeing your state. His expression was one of horror. He rushed to your side. “____!”

Vanitas could hear him calling you from his room just paces away, a self-righteous smirk settled on his face.

Terra made efforts to soothe you, making sure to tell you everything he was doing so he wouldn’t send you into a straight up panicked frenzy. He untied the red rope from your head, inspecting it and immediately knowing who it was. Anger boiled inside him, and he threw the rope aside. His hair turned from auburn brown to a stark white, his eyes changing from blue to gold. He opened the yukata a small amount and saw dark purple bruises covering your ribs, no doubt from being pounded into the floor for gods know how long. there were bruises where he had gripped your face and neck. He had seen enough. He hoisted you up, muttering soft apologies to you for moving you. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you to the infirmary. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” You clung to him, wincing and groaning with every step he took. 

After way too many stairs and a few rounded corners, he got you in and laid down on a bed. A gentle looking blonde girl came out of a back room and rushed over.

“Wh-What happened?!” 

“She was assaulted. I think I know who did it, and I’m about to go confront him.”

The girl turned her attention toward you after shooing him out of the room.

“I’m Namin é.. I’ll take care of you, can you stand? We need to get you cleaned up and assessed.”

You nodded, slowly sitting up and sliding off. The girl led you to a tub, asking you to undress. When she saw your hesitation, she gave you a comforting smile and gently touched your shoulder.

“Please, I won’t judge. It isn’t your fault, and I’m sure Terra will handle it, but we need to clean you up.” 

You complied, stepping into the freshly drawn water.  Namin é helped you bathe, gently washing your hair. She noted how you’d wince when she moved your hair, prompting her to check your scalp. You had a swollen bruise. 

After she washed you up and had Elrena fetch some clothes from your room, You got dressed and sat on the bed while she wrote everything down.

You had bruising on the ribs, neck, face, rump, and back of the skull. Your jaw was strained from being gagged for so long. She didn’t mention the internal bruising and damage, to preserve your dignity.

She gave you a few different remedies, one for pain, one for swelling, and one to prevent infections, recommending you wait for Terra to return. 

“Who… if you don’t mind.. Who did it..?” She said quietly. 

“Vanitas.” you said with as much venom as you could muster.


	3. Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You meet Xehanort, and go exploring with Terra

“I see.. You’re not the first woman he’s done this to..” The blond averted her gaze. “He’s the reason there are no other women here besides Elrena and I..”

  
“Why.. why didn’t the others get you two out of here..?” You inquired, your voice hoarse.

“Well, Elrena is spoken for. Marluxia, her lover, is one of our strongest officers, and.. he can be more terrifying and ruthless than Vanitas when provoked, so nobody dares to treat her badly. I’m here out of necessity. What good is an army without a medic?”

You nodded in understanding. 

Terra came back a couple hours later. He looked drained, but brightened up upon seeing you conversing with Namine.

“Knock knock.” He said as he leaned on the threshold, a lopsided smile gracing his features. You took this as good news afoot.

“T-Terra..!” You croaked, smiling back at him warmly. You slid off the bed, wincing a little as you hobbled over to him, wrapping your arms around him tightly. He wheezed slightly, chuckling as he patted the top of your head.

“It's nice to see you too, ____.”

“S-so.. how did it go..?” You asked nervously, walking back over to sit on the bed by Namine. The brunette followed, leaning against the wall.

“Well, you’ll be in my room now. Elrena already helped move your things, so you don’t have to go anywhere near him now.” You visibly relaxed at his words.

“Xehanort was busy at the moment, but I caught Xemnas. He and Marluxia were together. Xemnas is going to relay the message and my requests to Xehanort as soon as he can.”

It was an even bigger relief that Marluxia knew, given what you had just learned about him. You were too tired to really show it, but you would be eternally grateful to Terra for all the help he’s given you since you arrived here.

“Naminé, when can I start training again?” 

“As soon as your soreness is gone and you can move about like normal. I’d say.. a week at the  _ most _ , but you may heal sooner” She smiled. 

You and Terra said your goodbyes, heading to his room so you could rest. A tall guy with petal pink hair pushed off the wall and fell into step with the two of you standing on your other side. You instinctively hugged Terra’s arm, cautious of this new person.

“That’s Marluxia, you’re okay, he’s safe.” Terra said soothingly. Marluxia looked over to you with a warm smile as his greeting, and Terra chuckled nervously.

“Well.. you’re safe. Vanitas won’t be if he’s caught anywhere near you.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two of you stepped into Terra’s room, your eyes wandering all over the place. He didn’t have much going on in terms of decoration, save for a couple swords hanging on his wall, and some stacks of books and journals on a table in the corner of the room, but other than that, his room was just like yours. Luckily you didn’t have much, so you weren’t crowding his space. The brunette led you to your futon, helping you to sit.

“Hey, Terra..?” You asked. He tilted his head in silent questioning.

“I vaguely remember.. this morning, when you found me.. you looked different.”

He raised a brow in confusion, not understanding what you meant.

“Your hair was a silvery-white, and your eyes were gold.”

He frowned slightly, shaking his head.

“You’ve been through a lot, ____.” Was all he said. “Please get some rest.. Marluxia is only a couple rooms away. You’re safe.” He murmured softly as he helped you to lay down. When he moved to stand, you caught him by the hand. He looked at you with surprise.

“Please stay with me..?”

The brunette chuckled. “Silly.. I’m going to be here with you, I’ll be just over there.” He pointed to his futon.

“No.. stay  _ here _ with  _ me.” _ He picked up on what you meant, snorting a bit.

“Sure, I can do that if it makes you feel better.”

Terra laid down beside you, pulling the covers up to your shoulders. You snuggled close to him as soon as he got situated, burying your face in his chest. He gently carded his fingers through your hair, soothing you enough to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terra couldn’t sleep that night. He felt terrible about what happened to you, clutching you tightly against him as you slept. 

_ I want to kill him. _

_ I need to kill him. _

He drew in a deep breath, steadying himself. Every now and then, through the night you would sob and sometimes you would kick like you were fighting someone, and he knew what plagued your dreams. All he could do was soothe you the best he could, with kind words, tight hugs.

It only made him angrier.

It made him feel worse.

_ You have to kill him. _

_ It's the only way to protect her. _

He put his hand over his face in an attempt to block everything out, clear his mind, and ground himself. That nagging voice in his head continuing incessantly into the morning. 

He didn’t want to fail you like he had failed his other friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Terra gently woke you from your slumber, brushing your hair from your face. Your eyes opened slowly, looking around the room.

“____, we need to get you dressed, relatively quick. We’ve been summoned by Xehanort.”

You stretched and nodded, moving to the stack of clothes that were neatly folded on top of Terra’s dresser. 

“What does he want to see us about?” 

The brunette shrugged. “It's nothing bad. He wanted to meet you personally. Given the circumstances..” He trailed off with a saddened tone of voice. “ I am to accompany you there. He thinks it would help ease your mind.”

You nodded and smiled lightly. “Thank you.” 

He shook his head. “No need.”

Terra helped you tie the obi of your kimono behind your back, making sure it wasn’t too tight. It looked really good on you, the colors matching well with your hair and skin. His eyes lingered a little longer than they should have, before he diverted his attention toward finishing up himself.

“You can wait in the hall if you’re ready, I’ll only be a moment. The man with the blue hair is Saïx, he’s our escort. You’ll be safe.”

You exited the room, meeting the blue-haired male with a bow. Terra emerged only moments after, a white haori held shut by a brown sash and brown tasseled rope over his usual ensemble. The walk was quiet, save for the occasional irritated mumble you would whisper under your breath when your legs proved difficult. Terra frowned at himself, a worried expression outside. He helped steady you, one hand on your back, the other on your arm.

“You okay? We can meet with him another time if you’d rather rest.” He whispered. You shook your head, straightening yourself.

“I’m fine, A little wobble in my step won’t keep me bedridden!” You giggled quietly, trying to put him at ease.

Saïx brought you two to the doors of Xehanort’s audience chamber, opening the doors for you to enter. Both of you bowed deeply when you made it to Xehanort’s seated form. 

“Ahhh, so this is the girl then.” He chuckled. His demeanor seems soft.

Terra nodded. “Yes.”

“Good, good.. young..____? Was it? I wanted to apologize for everything that has happened to you since you came here.” The old man said, bowing his head deeply, his head nearly touching the floor. “That is not regular treatment of our prisoners. We meant no harm. I would like to appoint Terra as your personal guardian. He is a capable youth, and very kind as I am sure you know.” He chuckled knowingly at how red faced the brunette got under his praise.

Your heart felt full and warm at the gesture. “Thank you, My Lord.” You murmured softly with a bow. “ It means so much that one of stature would take care of a prisoner like me.”

Xehanort raised a curious brow. “Prisoner? We’ll fix that. I have heard of your prowess in combat, both from… an  _ angered  _ party, and a neutral party. Why, I believe you could be of use to our cause! I will send for another meeting soon with all the details. I’d like for you to hear our plight. As for now, I believe you could use some time to get to know the castle town and the grounds.”

You both bowed and left with a little pep in your step. Terra looked to you with a grin plastered on his face. It was infectious, you couldn’t help but beam back at him. He plopped his hand down on your head, ruffling your hair.

“I’ll show you around!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the day was spent wandering the castle, exploring inside, outside of whatever four walls you were kept in at any given time. You came upon the courtyard, spying a little koi pond nestled in a small bed of flowers and bushes. You made your way to the clear water, dipping your fingers in to feel the backs of the koi. One came up and latched its mouth as though your digit were a worm. You pulled your finger back with a startled yelp, Terra bursting into a fit of laughter.

“I see you met Niburā!”

“N-Niburā?”

“Nibbler. I named it that since it likes to latch onto everything it sees.” He grinned.

You laughed softly, lightly brushing your fingertips over Niburā’s head and back as though it were a puppy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your next stop was the castle garden. It was large, consisting of two plots that spanned the back of the castle grounds. There were trees, flowers, and all kinds of other flora that flourished in abundance here. The grass was long enough to tickle your ankles. The trees were blooming, a sweet scent enveloping the area that made it feel as though you had stepped into a different world.

You never wanted to leave.

Terra was happy following along, watching you flit around all the flowers like a little honey bee, inspecting every one of them. You could stay here for days! It had already been a couple hours, you walking ahead while Terra meandered along behind you at a comforting pace. 

The sun was just about to sink beneath the horizon when you came upon a clearing. A lone stump rested in the center, illuminated by the last shreds of sunlight filtering through the trees. You sat on it, and Terra sat beside you in the grass, leaning his back on the stump. 

“This place is so beautiful..” You murmured, watching the sky change colors as the minutes passed. Terra hummed in agreement, leaning his head back with a light sigh.

“I used to come here all the time when I first joined Xehanort.”

“Why did you stop?”

“Because I had made up my mind. I knew what side I should be on. I knew what side would help me grow as a whole.”

You both fell silent. You retreated into your thoughts with Terra’s words echoing in your head. You didn’t know anything about what this kingdom stood for. You knew they embraced the channeling of your negative feelings into sheer power in battle, but their motives as a whole were still unknown. You wanted to meet with Xehanort again, soon.

Your thoughts dragged back to the horror of a couple nights ago, your hands trembling and your breathing picking up. Your blood boiled with anger just as much it ran cold with fear. Terra noticed and looked at you with concern.

Your decision was solid regarding  _ him _ , at least.

You  _ would _ get stronger. You would  _ end _ him.

The brunette watched as you slid off the stump, striding a few paces away. You dug around in your finery, pulling out your dagger. The male quirked his brow with curiosity, rising to his feet. You brought the blade up, holding it an inch from the base of your skull as you gathered your hair in one hand. The blade sliced through, leaving you with a handful of your old self, and a new person standing in her place.

You turned your head to look at your companion, a look of determination and resolve in your eyes. You turned to face him fully, your dagger tight in your grip as you untied the sash to your haori, letting it fall to the ground.

“Terra.” 

He remained silent, waiting for you to finish your statement. You opened your hand, letting the bundle of hair be swept away by the breeze.

“Spar with me.”

He frowned slightly. “ ____.. Naminé sai—”

“I know what Naminé said. I’ll be fine. Please.”

He closed his eyes and took a moment to mull it over in his head. Terra breathed deeply, a small smile gracing his lips as he opened them once more to meet yours as he drew his blade and stood at the ready.

“Sure, then. Come at me!”

You grinned, flipping your blade around in your hand before lunging at him with a slashing strike. Terra jumped back, avoiding your strike, and swung the pommel of his blade to your shoulder, pushing you away. You staggered for a moment, the brunette taking the opportunity to move in for a strike. Your blades clashed and you swung your legs out in a sweeping motion, knocking him flat on his ass. 

He growled slightly, rising to his feet once more. There was a good distance between the two of you as you both paced around each other.

“So, what decides the winner of this little  _ play match _ ?” You taunted, your voice a purring tone.

“First one to incapacitate and get a killing blow?” He smirked. 

“Fine by me!” You said with a laugh as you lunged forward, slashing at him again.

Terra dodged to the side, moving behind you to strike your back when you wheeled on him and swung your blade just a hair’s breadth from his face. He was startled, jumping back and away. 

You smirked again, throwing down a smoke bomb. Terra coughed into his forearm, the haze stinging his eyes as he watched you disappear into the cloud.

“Try to find me~” You teased playfully. “No holding back, now!”

You were circling the outside of the smoke, kicking a pebble one way, snapping twigs here and there in an effort to mess with him. You heard him swing and that was your cue to hop back in, tackling the brunette while he was open.

You knocked him flat on his back, straddling his torso. You pressed your dagger to his throat, making him suck in a deep breath as you leaned down with a cocky smirk. 

“ _ Dead _ . I win.”

He groaned, rubbing his head as you stood and helped him up. After a second of gathering his bearings, he laughed.

“Ow. That was fun.”

“It was.” You said with a smile. You turned your eyes back to the sky. The stars were so plentiful, accented by subtle streaks of pink and green.

“It's late..” Terra murmured. “We should probably head back.”

You nodded, putting your haori back on and sloppily tying it in the front before you both set on your way back to the castle.

A pair of golden eyes watched the exchange with grit teeth beside an elderly man who wore a menacing smile.

  
“ _ Yes.. she’ll do just fine.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the shift from the previous chapter to this one is a little /too/ much? I felt that after how dark and heavy the last one was, we could all use a little light heartedness 😅😅 that also gives me an opportunity to fill out the characters a bit. 
> 
> That being said, the next couple chapters are going to be pretty well light as well while I build up to the next conflict bit ☺️


End file.
